Man Suffers Burn Injuries In West Midlands Distillery ‘Explosion’

'Thorough Investigation' Vital Following Fire In Langley

26.11.2012

A man has been hospitalised after suffering serious burns in an accident at work at a distillery in Langley, West Midlands.

Emergency services were called to the Alcohols Ltd site on the town’s Crosswells Road on Monday morning (November 26th) following reports of an explosion, with 70 firefighters on the scene to tackle the fire.

West Midlands Ambulance Service have confirmed that a man in his 20s was taken for treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospitals in Birmingham following the incident. Residents close to the scene of the fire were asked to keep windows shut as a precautionary measure.

David Urpeth, a workplace injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, has vast experience representing people injured in major industrial accidents, including residents and workers injured in the Killingholme refinery chemical disaster in 2001.

Commenting on this latest incident, he said: “Safety needs to always be the priority in the workplace, particularly when it comes to working in close proximity with potentially hazardous materials and substances.

“We have seen in the past the huge consequences that industrial accidents and explosions can have one those involved, as well as residents who are exposed to harmful fumes or substances as a result of such issues.

“Very little is so far known about this incident but it is clear that a full and thorough investigation is needed to provide a comprehensive examination of the circumstances of this incident.

“The ultimate aim in the long run will need to be to ensure that answers can be provided to those involved about what happened, as well as to guarantee that lessons can be learned which may go some way to preventing the same problems in the future.”